Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2021

With huge upheavals in most people’s economic lives since March 2020, there is keen interest in how household living standards have changed over the course of the pandemic, and how effective government policies like the furlough scheme have been at protecting families against material hardship.

At this event, IFS researchers will present the key findings from their latest flagship annual report on living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

IFS researchers will set out the situation in which UK households found themselves on the eve of the pandemic. They will then identify how households' living standards have been affected throughout 2020-21, by examining detailed information on the labour market activities of UK households and by analysing changes in measures of deprivation and financial difficulties, with a particular focus on how different groups have fared over the course of the pandemic.

After the presentations, there will be plenty of time for questions.